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<title>Risks: Television Time and Children’s Eyes</title>
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In adults, constricted blood vessels in the eyes have been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.        </p><p>
Scientists in Australia studied 1,492 6-year-olds randomly selected from 34 schools in Sydney. The children’s parents completed questionnaires asking how much time their children spent in physical activities and how much time they spent in front of a TV or computer. Then the researchers examined the children’s eyes.        </p><p>
After adjusting for a variety of health factors, they found that blood vessels in the eyes of children who watched the most TV were slightly smaller in diameter than those in children who watched the least amount.        </p><p>
The results for physical activity were similar: the eyes of children who exercised the least had the narrowest blood vessels. The reason is unclear.        </p><p>
“We don’t know what it means in children,” said Dr. Paul Mitchell, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Sydney and lead author of the study. “We have to follow them for much longer.”        </p><p>
The study was published on Thursday in the journal <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/atherosclerosis/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="In-depth reference and news articles about Atherosclerosis." class="meta-classifier">Arteriosclerosis</a>, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.        </p>
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